Raphael M. Kudela

Assistant Professor, Ocean Sciences Department
Ph.D., University of Southern California

Office: E&MS A461
Office Phone: 831-459-3290
Lab Phone: 9-2688 (wetlab), 9-4298 (computer lab)


Email: kudela@cats.ucsc.edu

     
Overview:  
I am a phytoplankton ecologist who wishes to understand the fundamental question: what controls phytoplankton growth and distribution in the ocean. More specifically, how do the multiple interactions of light, macro- and micronutrients and phytoplankton physiology determine the rates, processes, and patterns we observe in the marine environment? Oceanography is rapidly moving away from observational science towards an understanding of underlying mechanistic processes at all scales, in part because of the wealth of revolutionary new technological and scientific advances. My approach is to combine a suite of 3 tools: (1) remotely sensed data from moorings and satellites in combination with biological models; (2) novel bio-optical methods assaying phytoplankton physiology; and (3) the refinement of stable and radio-tracer isotopes.  
Specific Research: We are currently working on several projects in the laboratory and field, primarily in central California.  

ECOHAB: Within the Monterey Bay region, there are several funded groups working closely together on the Pseudo-nitzschia/domoic acid complex. We (myself and William Cochlan, SFSU) are funded to develop in the field and laboratory an understanding of how Si, N, C, and light interact physiologically to trigger DA production. Colleagues at MBARI (C. Scholin), UCSC (D. Garrison, M. Silver, J. Goldman, E. Rue), U. Maine (M. Wells), and MLML (G.J. Smith) are working on related aspects, ranging from the role of metal availability, including iron, to the transfer of toxin through the marine food web.


NASA projects: A physiological model of nitrogen utilization by natural phytoplankton assemblages which can predict new production in coastal waters using remotely sensed data (AVHRR and ocean color data) or moorings is being developed as part of NASA grant NAG5-6563. As part of the EPA funded Coastal Intensive Sites Network (CISNet; NASA grant NAG5-7632), we are also developing regional algorithms (pigments, CDOM, sediments, new production) along a gradient of water conditions, from the blue-water stations occupied off central California to the turbid waters of San Pablo Bay.

CoOP: As part of an NSF-sponsored Coastal Ocean Projects program, we has just begun a 5-year study of coastal productivity (The Role of Wind Driven Transport in Shelf Productivity). We have proposed to study the 3-dimensional wind-driven circulation of water concurrently with size-structured distributions of phytoplankton and zooplankton species in this multi-institution, multi-investigator program. Further, we proposed to study the key physical and biological processes that control primary production, zooplankton population responses, and offshore transport of plankton and nutrients over the strongly wind-driven shelf and slope off Bodega Bay. This program has 3 field years, with a combination of instrumented moorings and cruises, followed by two years of data assimilation and development of a coupled physical-biological model. We are responsible for the bio-optical component and shipboard process studies, and is developing regional algorithms for new and primary production.

 
Selected Publications:  

Kudela, R.M. and W.P. Cochlan. 2000. Nitrogen and Carbon Uptake Kinetics and the Influence of Irradiance for a Red Tide Bloom Off Southern California. Aquat. Microb. Ecol. 21: 31-47.


Kudela, R.M. and F.P. Chavez. 2000. The impact of the 1992 El Niño on new production in Monterey Bay, California. Deep-Sea Res. II 47: 1055-1076.


Kudela, R.M. and R.C. Dugdale. 2000. Regulation of phytoplankton new production as determined by enclosure experiments with nutrient additions in Monterey Bay, California. Deep-Sea Res. II 47: 1023-1053.


Wilkerson, F.P. R.C. Dugdale, F.P. Chavez, and R.M. Kudela. 2000. Biomass and productivity in Monterey Bay, CA: contribution of the larger autotrophs. Deep-Sea Res. II 47:1003-1022.


Kudela, R.M., W.P. Cochlan and R.C. Dugdale. 1997. Carbon and nitrogen uptake response to light by phytoplankton during an upwelling event. J. Plankton Res. 19: 609-630.


Kudela, R.M. and F.P. Chavez. 1996. Bio-optical properties in relation to an algal bloom caused by iron enrichment in the equatorial Pacific. Geophys. Res. Letters, 23: 3751-3754.


Coale, K.H., K.S. Johnson, S.E. Fitzwater, R.M. Gordon, S. Tanner, F.P. Chavez, L. Ferioli, C. Sakamoto, P. Rogers, F. Millero, P. Steinberg, P. Nightingale, D. Cooper, W. Cochlan, M.R. Landry, J. Constantinou, G. Rollwagen, A. Trasvina and R. Kudela. 1996. A massive phytoplankton bloom induced by an ecosystem-scale iron fertilization experiment in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Nature 383: 495-501.